Truck to railcar transfer device and method

ABSTRACT

Transfer of a load container from a truck to a railcar using a loading bolster to support and to swing the container into longitudinal alignment on the railcar during projection of the container onto the loading bolster by relative sliding movement between the container and the supporting surfaces of the truck, with transfer assisted by forward and reverse movements of the truck in directions transversely of the railcar.

v United States Patent Pratt [4 Jan. 18, 1972 TRUCK T0 RAILCAR TRANSFER[56] References Cited DEVICE AND METHOD UNITED STATES PATENTS [72]Invent: 3,095,987 7/1963 Sable ..214/38 A [73] Assignee: Clark EquipmentCompany 3,002,636 10/1961 Felburn ..214/38 A [22] Wed: 1969 PrimaryExaminer-RobertG. Sheridan [21 A NO; 846,066 Attorney-H0bbs & Green andKemon, Palmer and Estabrook 57 ABSTRACT [52] [1.8. CI. ..214/38 A,105/366 R, 105/366 A, l

' 230/34 A Transfer of a load container from a truck to a railcar usinga [5 1] Int. Cl ..B6ld 3/16 loading bolster to support and to Swing thecontainer into [58] Field of Search ...2i4/38 A;280/34 A; 105/366 R,siwdinal alignment on the railw during Projection of the g 105/3 Acontainer onto the loading bolster by relative sliding movement betweenthe container and the supporting surfaces of the truck, with transferassisted by forward and reverse movements of the truck in directionstransversely of the railcar.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 8 I912 SHEET 1 BF 4 FIG.I

ATTORNEYS PATENTEU JAN] 8 1912 saw 2 or 4 FIG. 4

. INVENTOR ROBERT A. PRATT ATTORNEYS PATENTED J N 1 8 912 sum 3 or 4FIG. 5

' v V 'INVENTOR '1 ROBERT A. PRATT ATTORNEY S PATENTEUJAHIMQTZ 3,635,362

SHEEI u 0F 4 320 as INVENTOR ROBERT A. PRATT ATTORNEY 6 TRUCK TO RAILCARTRANSFER DEVICE AND METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use ofcombination truck and railroad transportation, where a part of the routeof a given shipment may be by truck and another portion .by rail, hasincreased the importance of satisfactory means of transfer loadcontainers from'a truck onto a railcar. In some cases the entire trailerof a truck-trailer combination has been transferred and this in itselfis a rather difficult project. The increased use of relatively largecontainers in freight shipments makes it of importance that such largecontainers which might be as large as the load carrying portion of atruck-trailer be made capable of transfer on and off thistrailer andparticularly it would be important to facilitate the transfer of suchcontainers onto a railcar with a minimum of equipment and in a shorttime.

SUMMARY It is a primary object of the invention to provide a loadtransfer device for the unloading of a container from a truck onto arailcar using a telescoping chassis on the truck which on reversemovement of the truck projects the rear of the load container onto apivoted loading bolster positioned on the railcar into position tocomplete alignment on the railcar.

It is a further object to provide means which after initial positioningof the container on the loading bolster that on subsequent rearwardmovement of the truck the load container is moved further onto thebolster and on activation of a pivot connection between the truck andthe container, the container is moved further onto the bolster with thebolster and the containerrotated on a pivot relative to the railcar andis swung toward longitudinal carrying position on the railcar.

It is another object to complete transfer of the load container to arailcar which includes the provision of at least one pivotal connectionbetween the truck and the container which with the pivotal mounting ofthe loading bolster on the railcar will provide sufficient relativemovement to continue to swing the load container into alignment instorage position on the railcar on backing the truck in generallyjackknifed relationship with its trailer.

It is another object to provide a method for transfer of a loadcontainer from a truck to a railcar by projecting the container onto acentrally pivoted support on the railcar by relative sliding movementsbetween the container and the truck, and to complete positioning of thecontainer on the railcar by pivoted rotation of the container in adirection toward longitudinally aligned support position on the railcar.

The above and other objects of the invention will appear more fully fromthe following more detailed description and by reference to theaccompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view' of a truck-trailer assembly, with loadcontainer secured thereon with provision for sliding movement betweenthe supporting surfaces of the trailer and the undersurface of thecontainer, the truck being shown in position with its rear in nearabutting contact with the side of a railcar.

FIG. 2 is also a top view but with the load container projected onto therailcar with its projecting end supported on a loading bolster carriedon the railcar.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the truck, trailer, load container, and railcarshowing the relative position of the container and other components whenthe trailer has been slid forward under the container.

FIG. 4 is a top view with the container projected further onto theloading bolster and with the pivot connection between the container andthe rear of the trailer in operation.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing the container supported on the loadingbolster and swung into near alignment with the railcar with the truckand trailer still in connected relationship with the container.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the trailer, portion of a truck and trailerassembly and includes the showing of the telescoping portions of thetrailer chassis. V I

FIG. 7 is a side view of the trailer assembly shown in FIG. 1 andincludes a dotted showing of theprojection of the container accomplishedon telescoping of the rear portion of the trailer forward relative tothe front portion thereof.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the pivoted loading bolster provided forassembly on the railcar.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the loading bolster shown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTIONS OF ILLUSTRATIVE STRUCTURES Referring to the drawings atruck 10 (see FIG. I, 6 and 7) has a trailer 12 on which is carried aload container 14. The trailer 12 is pivotally connected to the truck 10(see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 by a so-called fifth wheel pivot connection 16,the pivot itself being shown in the side view of the trailer in FIG. 7.This fifth wheel connection is conventional on so-called trucktrailerunits. As shown in FIG. 1, the truck 10 with the trailer 12 attachedwith the container 14 thereon is shown backed in position with its rearagainst the side of a railroad car 18. The railcar 18 is preferably of aso-called flat car type with spaced center sills 20 and 22 extendinglongitudinally of the railcar. The trailer 12, as shown in FIG. 6 and 7,is made with a front portion 24 and a rear portion 26 constructed intelescoping relationship so that, as viewed in FIG. 7 the rear portion26 from its normal extended position may be telescoped forward relativeto the front portion 24. The dotted showing of the trailer 12 in FIGS. 1and 2 indicates in FIG. 1 the extended position of the front and rearportions as shown in FIG. 7 while FIG. 2 shows the rear portiontelescoped forward toward the front portion 24, that is, in itstelescoped position the rear portion 26, with its wheels, moving forwardrelative to the front portion 24. Considering the FIGS. 1 and 2, thecondition before telescoping is shown in FIG. 1, the rear of the trailerportion 26 being shown in near abutment relation with the side of therailcar 18 and on reverse drive of the truck 10 the rear portion 26 ofthe trailer 12 abuts against the side of the railcar and the rear of theload container 14 (see dotted lines in FIG. 7) has its undersurface ingeneral alignmentrelative to the top surface of the railcar 18 (seedotted lines also in FIG. 7). Therefore, as the rear of the trailer 26abuts against the railcar at 18a, (FIG. 7) the result will be atelescoping of the rear portion 26 of the trailer toward the frontportion 24 and the container will move rearward, with the truckmovement, to extend over the railcar to the position shown in FIG. 2.(See dotted lines 14a to 14b in FIG. 7 indicating initial movement).

' Referring to FIGS. 1, 8 and 9 a loading bolster 30 is mounted forhorizontal swinging movement relative to a center pivot 32, supportmember 34 being provided with extending portions 35, 36 of a form suchthat they will secure the bolster pivot 32 centrally between the tworailcar sills- 20 and 22 as shown in FIG. 1, the members 34, 36extending under the sills with the result that the pivot 32 is therebysupported in such manner as to afford a swinging pivotal movement of theloading bolster 30 on pivot 32. The pivot 32 may be accomplished bymeans of a bearing 32a as shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 thebolster has roller assemblies 38, 40 positioned adjacent each end andalso guide plates 42, 44 adjacent the roller assemblies as shown so thatthe bolster 30 may be pivotally mounted to swing on the center pivot 32.

The structure of the loading bolster 30 as shown provides a centrallypivoted member with portions extending laterally outward from the pivotto provide a supporting surface substantially the width of the containerso that when the container is pushed onto this pivotally supportedmember and reaches a position so that the bolster is in substantiallythe center of the container, the container will be supported on therailcar for swinging movement about an axis perpendicular to the surfaceof the car so that the container so supported can be swung to positionsubstantially in longitudinal alignment with the car.

The structure of the loading bolster above set forth and as disclosed inthe drawings is capable of receiving the container 14 as it is projectedrearward over the railcar as shown by the change in position betweenFIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2 it is noted that the container 14 has been putin a position such that it is supported between guide plates 42, 44 ofthe bolster (see also FIG. 8 and 9) and its sliding movement relative tothe bolster is assisted by the roller assemblies 38, 40 (FIG. 8) so thata movement of the bottom of the container 14 relative to the bolster isassisted by the rollers.

It also be noted in FIGS. 6 and 7 that the trailer chassis frame isprovided with a rear bolster 46 and a front bolster 48 on the right andleft ends of rear bolster 46 twist locks 50 and 52 are providedrespectively and on the right and left ends of front bolster 48 twistlocks 54 and 56 are provided. Also the front bolster 48 is capable ofsliding rearward into position against the rear bolster 46.

The load container 14 is mounted for sliding movement relative to thesupporting surfaces of the front and rear trailer portions 24 and 26,i.e., the undersurface of the container 14 is capable of slidingrelative to the supporting surfaces 24, 26 of the trailer.

The twist locks are of such construction that they may be retracted orextended to secure the corners of the container in position relative tothe bolsters. When the container 14 is in the position as shown in FIG.1, which is the normal road driving condition, all the twist locks areprojected to hold the container in position with each of its corners ina general relationship of the bolster position shown in FIG. 6. Theretractable twist locks are also of the construction so that if one ofthem, such as the right-hand twist lock 56 on the bolster 48, isprojected to connect, that a pivot will be provided by this connectionif the other twist locks are retracted. In FIGS. 4 and 5 the frontsliding bolster 48 is slid to the rear position so that the pivot isaccomplished by the twist lock 56 which is the righthand twist lockthereby providing both a support and a pivot at the front corner of thecontainer relative to the sliding bolster 48 and the rear of the trucktrailer which is at such a location adjacent the rear of the trailer 12.

Considering the operation of this device, it has been previouslymentioned that the position in FIG. 1 is the initial position with therear of the trailer and the container 14 then in its normal road drivingcondition backed with the rear end near abutment with the side of therailcar 18. From the position in FIG. 1 the container is projected overthe railcar to the position of FIG. 2 by the reverse drive of the truckwhich abuts the rear of the telescoping rear portion 26 (see also dottedshowing in FIG. 7) of the trailer 12 against the surface 18a of therailcar and this rearward movement as shown by the dotted lines 14a and14b of FIG. 7 causes the container to be projected over the surface ofthe railcar 18 while at the same time the rear chassis portion 26, whileit is really stationary, is telescoped relative to the front portion 24of the trailer, which with the container 14 moves rearwardly. Therelative movement of the rear portion 26 which remains stationaryagainst the railcar is moved forward relative to the front trailerportion 24. Thus the assembly of container 14 and the forward portion 24of the trailer are moved rearward by the reverse drive of the truck andthe container projects over the railcar. The distance of initialrearward movement is shown in FIG. 2 where the rear end of container 14rests on the loading bolster 30 and it is also noted that as shown inFIG. 1 air suspension devices 58, 60 are provided to lift the trailersupporting members so that the container may be positioned vertically toalign with the supporting surface of the loading bolster 30. That is,the container 14 with its undersurface will be positioned relative tothe bolster so that it will project over the bolster for supportthereon. It is also noted that the twist locks 50, 52 are retracted fromthe rear of the container to allow the rear chassis portion 26 to moveforward relative to the front portion 24. Or to state it in anotherway-the rear chassis portion 26 remains stationary and relative to therailcar the entire truck and trailer assembly, except the rear chassisportion is moved rearward on the reverse drive of the truck. Referringto FIG. 3 it is the next step to pull the truck-trailer chassis forwardwith its rear portion 26 telescoped after engaging the container silllocks 62, 64 to fix the rear of the container 14 on the loading bolster30. The truck-trailer chassis in its telescoped position as shown inFIG. 2 is moved forward by the forward drive of the truck under thecontainer 14 to the position as shown in FIG. 3. In this movement thefront bolster is released and the front bolster 48 is moved to the rearbolster 46 by pulling the telescoped trailer members 24, 26 forward tothe position shown in FIG. 3.

At this time the twist locks 54, 56 of the front bolster are engaged andin order to prepare for the next step, the right-hand sill lock 54 isreleased leaving the left twist lock 56 engaged, to form a pivot, andthe locks 62, 64 on the loading bolster are released and the truck putin partial jackknifed position as shown in FIG. 4. With the truck inreverse drive as shown in FIG. 4 it will push the container 14 furtherover the loading bolster 30 and at the same time, because of the partialjackknifed relationship of the truck and trailer, and the pivot at 56,will turn the loading bolster about pivot 32 with the container 14thereon in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4. It is noted thatthe change in position between FIGS. 3 and 4 that the container resultsin a further projection of the container over the railcar and at thesame time the bolster 30 with the container thereon rotates about thecenter pivot 32 of the loading bolster. Also the left-hand twist lock 56provides a pivot in order that the front of the container may moverelative to the truck-trailer chassis into the position shown in FIG. 4.It is also noted that the fifth wheel pivot 16 also allows pivotalmovement of the trailer relative to the truck and it is the result ofthe reverse drive movement that all three of the pivots 32, 56 and 16,together with the relative position of the truck-trailer because of thepartial jackknifed relationship, all result in a movement of thecontainer 14 and the rotation about the pivot 32 as shown in FIG. 4.

Considering the position as shown in FIG. 5 it should be noted that thisposition is merely a further movement with the same pivots andconnections as shown in FIG. 4 but it is the result of further rearwardmovement of the truck in the jackknifed position. In the position shownin FIG. 5 the loading bolster has rotated clockwise about the pivot 32to bring the container toward near alignment with the longitudinalsupport position for its final location on the railcar. It is noted alsothat in FIG. 5 the left-hand twist lock 56 can be released and, ifnecessary, the truck driven away. It is then possible to swing or pushthe container into aligned position on the railcar from the positionshown in FIG. 5. This movement would be possible because by its pivotalsupport the rail car would be nearly balanced on the pivot 32.

In addition to the apparatus disclosure above the description ofoperation is particularly pertinent to a method of transfer of the loadcontainer between a truck and a railcar.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the steps from the position shown in FIG.1 include sliding the container 14 relative to the supporting surface ofthe truck with the rear of the truck abutting the railcar and with thetruck in reverse drive thereby projecting the container over the surfaceof the railcar by a sliding movement between the undersurface of thecontainer and the supporting surface of the truck. The rear of thecontainer is thus positioned on the pivoting loading bolster 30 forpivotal movement centrally of the railcar and, after sliding the trucksurfaces under the container as described, the container is furtherprojected onto the rail car to a position substantially centrally on therailcar as shown in FIG. 4. The provision of the pivot 56 with the frontof the container resting on the rear of the truck enables subsequentreverse drive of the truck to push the container further over the pivotand simultaneously to swing the container toward alignment on therailcar as shown by FIGS. 4 and 5.

The invention has been described by reference to a specific disclosurebut it is expected that modification may be made within the scope of thefollowing claims:

1. A load transfer device for unloading a container from a truck onto anadjacent railcar comprising:

a loading bolster centrally pivoted for a swinging movement parallel tothe surface of the railcar;

laterally extending portions of said loading bolster forming a supportsubstantially the width of the container;

supporting surfaces on said truck;

means supporting said container in sliding relationship relative to saidsupporting surfaces;

a rearward portion of the truck mounted to move forward relative to theforward portion of the truck;

means to position the truck and container so that the under surface ofthe container is aligned above the surface of the railcar when the truckis backed with its rear portion adjacent the side of the railcar;

whereby on reverse drive of the truck the rear of the truck contacts theside of the railcar and the rear portion of said truck isheld inposition thereby and the remainder of the truck and the container movesrearward relative to the rear portion of the truck and the railcar sothat the rear end of the container is projected to the center of therailcar for support on the pivoted loading bolster;

pivot means between the front of the container and the rear of thetruck; 1 I

whereby on subsequent reverse drive of the truck the container slidesfurther onto the bolster and at the same time the container and bolsterrotate to position said container toward alignment longitudinally of therailcar.

2. A load transfer device as in claim 1 wherein means are provided tosecure the container to the loading bolster;

whereby on subsequent forward movement of the truck the truck supportingsurfaces under the container are moved forward under the container sothat the front of the container is positioned for support on therearward portion of the truck;-

3. A load transfer device for unloading a container from a truck onto anadjacent railcar comprising:

a loading bolster centrally pivoted for a swinging movement parallel tothe surface of the railcar;

laterally extending portions of said loading bolster forming a supportsubstantially the width of the container;

supporting surfaces on said truck;

means supporting said container in sliding relationship relative to saidsupporting surfaces;

a rearward portion of the truck mounted to move forward relative to theforward portion of the truck;

means to position the truck and container so that the under surface ofthe container is aligned above the surface of the railcar when the truckis backed with its rear portion adjacent the side of the railcar;

whereby on reverse drive of the truck the rear of the truck contacts theside of the railcar and the rear portion of said truck is held inposition thereby and the-remainder of the truck and the container movesrearward relative to the rear portion of the truck and the railcar sothat the rear end of the container is projected to the center of therail car for support on the pivoted loading bolster;

means are provided to secure the container to the loading bolster;

whereby on subsequent forward movement of the truck, the trucksupporting surfaces under the container are moved forward under thecontainer so that the front of the container is positioned for supporton the rearward portion of the truck;

pivot means between the front of the container and the rear of thetruck;

whereby on subsequent reverse drive of the truck the container slidesfurther onto the bolster and at the same time the container and bolsterrotate to position said container toward alignment longitudinally of therailcar.

4. A load transfer device for transferring a load container from atruck;

said truck being of the type employing a trailer with a fifth wheelpivoted connection securing the trailer to the truck;

means mounting a load container on the trailer with the under surface ofthe container mounted fora sliding movement relative to the supportingsurface of the trailer longitudinally thereof;

a loading bolster formed to support the container;

means to pivotally support said loading bolster centrally on the railcaron an axis perpendicular to the surface of the railcar;

means to project the container in sliding movement relative to thetrailer onto said loading bolster in position such that the bolstersupports said container for pivotal movement with the under surface ofthe container substantially parallel with and above the surface of therailcar;

pivot means are provided to pivot the forward end of the containerrelative to the trailer in addition to the pivotal support of theloading bolster on the railcar and in addition to the fifth wheelpivoted connection securing the trailer to the truck;

said pivot between the forward end of the container and the trailerbeing positioned between the pivot of the bolster and the pivot of thefifth wheel connection;

whereby on rearward movement of the truck in controlled jackknifedrelationship afforded by the fifth wheel pivot the container is pushedfarther onto the bolster and simultaneously the bolster is caused torotate on its pivot with the container in a direction toward alignmentof the container longitudinally with the railcar.

5. Load transfer device as in claim 4 wherein:

means are provided to project said container further onto the bolster inposition such that the bolster is located substantially centrally of thecontainer and the container thereby mounted for pivotal swingingmovement in a direction to align the container with the railcar forsupport thereon.

1. A load transfer device for unloading a container from a truck onto anadjacent railcar comprising: a loading bolster centrally pivoted for aswinging movement parallel to the surface of the railcar; laterallyextending portions of said loading bolster forming a supportsubstantially the width of the container; supporting surfaces on saidtruck; means supporting said container in sliding relationship relativeto said supporting surfaces; a rearward portion of the truck mounted tomove forward relative to the forward portion of the truck; means toposition the truck and container so that the under surface of thecontainer is aligned above the surface of the railcar when the truck isbacked with its rear portion adjacent the side of the railcar; wherebyon reverse drive of the truck the rear of the truck contacts the side ofthe railcar and the rear portion of said truck is held in positionthereby and the remainder of the truck and the container moves rearwardrelative to the rear portion of the truck and the railcar so that therear end of the container is projected to the center of the railcar forsupport on the pivoted loading bolster; pivot means between the front ofthe container and the rear of the truck; whereby on subsequent reversedrive of the truck the container slides further onto the bolster and atthe same time the container and bolster rotate to position saidcontainer toward alignment longitudinally of the railcar.
 2. A loadtransfer device as in claim 1 wherein means are provided to secure thecontainer to the loading bolster; whereby on subsequent forward movementof the truck the truck supporting surfaces under the container are movedforward under the container so that the front of the container ispositioned for support on the rearward portion of the truck.
 3. A loadtransfer device for unloading a container from a truck onto an adjacentrailcar comprising: a loading bolster centrally pivoted for a swingingmovement parallel to the surface of the railcar; laterally extendingportions of said loAding bolster forming a support substantially thewidth of the container; supporting surfaces on said truck; meanssupporting said container in sliding relationship relative to saidsupporting surfaces; a rearward portion of the truck mounted to moveforward relative to the forward portion of the truck; means to positionthe truck and container so that the under surface of the container isaligned above the surface of the railcar when the truck is backed withits rear portion adjacent the side of the railcar; whereby on reversedrive of the truck the rear of the truck contacts the side of therailcar and the rear portion of said truck is held in position therebyand the remainder of the truck and the container moves rearward relativeto the rear portion of the truck and the railcar so that the rear end ofthe container is projected to the center of the rail car for support onthe pivoted loading bolster; means are provided to secure the containerto the loading bolster; whereby on subsequent forward movement of thetruck, the truck supporting surfaces under the container are movedforward under the container so that the front of the container ispositioned for support on the rearward portion of the truck; pivot meansbetween the front of the container and the rear of the truck; whereby onsubsequent reverse drive of the truck the container slides further ontothe bolster and at the same time the container and bolster rotate toposition said container toward alignment longitudinally of the railcar.4. A load transfer device for transferring a load container from atruck; said truck being of the type employing a trailer with a fifthwheel pivoted connection securing the trailer to the truck; meansmounting a load container on the trailer with the under surface of thecontainer mounted for a sliding movement relative to the supportingsurface of the trailer longitudinally thereof; a loading bolster formedto support the container; means to pivotally support said loadingbolster centrally on the railcar on an axis perpendicular to the surfaceof the railcar; means to project the container in sliding movementrelative to the trailer onto said loading bolster in position such thatthe bolster supports said container for pivotal movement with the undersurface of the container substantially parallel with and above thesurface of the railcar; pivot means are provided to pivot the forwardend of the container relative to the trailer in addition to the pivotalsupport of the loading bolster on the railcar and in addition to thefifth wheel pivoted connection securing the trailer to the truck; saidpivot between the forward end of the container and the trailer beingpositioned between the pivot of the bolster and the pivot of the fifthwheel connection; whereby on rearward movement of the truck incontrolled jackknifed relationship afforded by the fifth wheel pivot thecontainer is pushed farther onto the bolster and simultaneously thebolster is caused to rotate on its pivot with the container in adirection toward alignment of the container longitudinally with therailcar.
 5. Load transfer device as in claim 4 wherein: means areprovided to project said container further onto the bolster in positionsuch that the bolster is located substantially centrally of thecontainer and the container thereby mounted for pivotal swingingmovement in a direction to align the container with the railcar forsupport thereon.